Digital Resources

PRIDE Webinar – Research Careers, well-being and mental health

On 2 December 2020 the PRIDE webinar explored the topic “Careers in academia: well-being and mental health of young researchers”. Interviewed by Lisette Schmidt, Gábor Kismihókis, expert in Researcher Career Management and chair of the recently started COST Action on Researcher Mental Health, and Desiree Dickerson, psychologist and experienced trainer, talk about difficult circumstances in academic life that challenge the well-being of young researchers.

Gábor Kismihókis discussed the following questions: Which factors of the labor market in academia challenge the well-being of young researchers? How will this labor market develop in future? Will we lose talented young people because a job in academia gets unattractive, also because it threatens well-being and mental health?

With Desiree Dickerson, our second speaker we explored the more individual level of well-being and stress: How is stress created on the individual level? How are emotions translated in which symptoms? How can someone cope with stress (as individual)? What strategies can someone develop (individual level, working context, organisational level)? How can young researchers be empowered to cope with stress? How can social support be created?

Our speakers:

Dr. Gábor Kismihók is the head of the Learning and Skills Analytics research Group at the Leibniz Information Center for Science and Technology (TIB) in Hannover, Germany. He is the Chair of the Research Funding Working Group and the Researcher Career Management Task Force at the Marie Curie Alumni Association. He also chairs the recently started COST Action on Researcher Mental Health. His core research focuses on matching processes between individuals, education (learning) and the labour market, using novel technologies and datasets. He has published his research in a number of international peer reviewed journals and books in the area of Learning Analytics and Technology Enhanced Learning. Gábor also has extensive experience with European research funding (e.g. H2020, H2020 MSCA, Erasmus Plus).

Desiree Dickerson, PhD is a clinical psychologist who specialises in the mental health and well-being of researchers and the academic community. Having worked as a researcher in New Zealand, Australia and Austria, Desiree now works globally with universities, lab groups, and academics in the pursuit of a healthier approach to research.

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